Monty Hall's Great Escape - BBC2 9pm Sunday
Discussion
Had high hopes for the programme; thought it'd be a real 'turn your back on civilisation and live with nature' type affair.
Fat chance.
It's a 'have an unlimited budget, we'll even get you a flash boat and loads of help to make a nice home' programme.
Much more Attenborough than Mears unfortunately.
Fat chance.
It's a 'have an unlimited budget, we'll even get you a flash boat and loads of help to make a nice home' programme.
Much more Attenborough than Mears unfortunately.
Fantastic scenery with some fantastic looking driving roads. I should be up that way come the second half of next month, so will have to go and investigate.
Oh, and take lots of memory cards for the camera.
SimonV8ster, there are a few properties on This thread that might be of interest.
Oh, and take lots of memory cards for the camera.
SimonV8ster, there are a few properties on This thread that might be of interest.
DJFish said:
I felt the programme was very contrived and shallow but I did enjoy the amazing scenery and watching the pooch go mental in the snow.
Agree, very contrived and his personal contribution to the 'project' was negligible + earning rent from his place in Briz 
Ponced around visiting people, loads of 'speak to camera' and making bacon sarnies for the real workers.
But, the scenery was great + pooch enjoying the freedom
BigLepton said:
thinfourth2 said:
No scotland is all deep fryed mars bars and folk on benefits
its not true this program
Were there any Scots in the programme? Everyone in the pub, the pig farmer, the bloke with the RIB all sounded English! Looks like the clearances were spectacularly effective. its not true this program
pokethepope said:
BigLepton said:
thinfourth2 said:
No scotland is all deep fryed mars bars and folk on benefits
its not true this program
Were there any Scots in the programme? Everyone in the pub, the pig farmer, the bloke with the RIB all sounded English! Looks like the clearances were spectacularly effective. its not true this program
But what great scenery & I want that dog
Funny piece about the programme in today's Grauniad....
Monty's gone to Scotland for the summer. Is this really worth a whole TV series?
A couple of years ago I went to Applecross on the west coast of Scotland. It's a beautiful place, looking out over the sound to Raasay and Skye. Full of posh English people with wellies and dogs, I seem to remember - like Hampstead Heath, but with better views. There's even a gastro pub. I was one of the posh English people obviously, without the dog.
Now they've got another, more long-term. Monty Halls, a marine biologist, diver and motivational speaker, is giving up his city life and is moving into a dilapidated cattle shed by the sea for six months. This is Monty Halls' Great Escape (BBC2, Sunday). For company he's got Reuben, a lovable scruffy dog with ADHD.
With some help from the locals, most of whom seem to be English, Monty rips the old corrugated roof off ("great fun") and puts a smart new one on. It's a local tradition, says Monty - everyone helps each other out to build their houses. He does admit to paying them. Amazing that, you pay someone, and they do something for you - that's real community spirit. I'm helping the Guardian out by doing TV reviews for them. It's a lovely tradition we have here in King's Cross.
Aha, here's a new addition to the Halls household: Gazza, a seagull with a broken wing. Oh dear, Gazza dies. Monty says it's because the wing was too badly broken, but I reckon it was food poisoning - dodgy seafood. He gives the poor bird a limpet from the seashore. I thought you were supposed to be a biologist, Monty. Everyone knows that seagulls eat chips. Anyway, we're back to just Monty and Reuben (Rubes) again.
So they look at the view together, alone with their thoughts. Monty takes his top off to liven things up a bit, and they run up a sand dune. "Hey Rubes, Rubes," Monty says a lot. "What are you doing Rubes?" Nothing really, just being a dog.
A Travis Perkins lorry arrives with some timber. Mike, one of the community-spirited workers, cuts his fingers, but not very badly. Monty buys a boat, some pigs and some chickens, which, we learn, are called hens in Scotland. Look at the view, isn't it magnificent? Crikey, there are two more episodes of this to go. At least in Castaway there were a few of them, and they had rows and relationships and stuff. Local Hero had a plot, plus Jenny Seagrove. This is just Monty and Reuben and a view, all of which are lovely, but I'm not convinced that together they add up to three hours of television. And I don't really understand what they're proving either, by moving to Scotland for the summer, and not really being very self-sufficient. That's just a long holiday, isn't it? Lovely, if you can afford it. And terrific views, obviously.
And I must admit I did enjoy the ferry, the Glenachulish, which plies the Kylerhea with just six cars. It's one of the last remaining turntable ferries afloat - so the whole car deck swivels round to let the cars drive off forwards onto the slipway . . . No? Sorry, I'm quite into boats. I was going to be a naval architect once, but I got thrown off the course for being too stupid, which is why I'm helping the Guardian out instead. What does it say about a TV programme, I wonder, when the star is a ferry?
Monty's gone to Scotland for the summer. Is this really worth a whole TV series?
A couple of years ago I went to Applecross on the west coast of Scotland. It's a beautiful place, looking out over the sound to Raasay and Skye. Full of posh English people with wellies and dogs, I seem to remember - like Hampstead Heath, but with better views. There's even a gastro pub. I was one of the posh English people obviously, without the dog.
Now they've got another, more long-term. Monty Halls, a marine biologist, diver and motivational speaker, is giving up his city life and is moving into a dilapidated cattle shed by the sea for six months. This is Monty Halls' Great Escape (BBC2, Sunday). For company he's got Reuben, a lovable scruffy dog with ADHD.
With some help from the locals, most of whom seem to be English, Monty rips the old corrugated roof off ("great fun") and puts a smart new one on. It's a local tradition, says Monty - everyone helps each other out to build their houses. He does admit to paying them. Amazing that, you pay someone, and they do something for you - that's real community spirit. I'm helping the Guardian out by doing TV reviews for them. It's a lovely tradition we have here in King's Cross.
Aha, here's a new addition to the Halls household: Gazza, a seagull with a broken wing. Oh dear, Gazza dies. Monty says it's because the wing was too badly broken, but I reckon it was food poisoning - dodgy seafood. He gives the poor bird a limpet from the seashore. I thought you were supposed to be a biologist, Monty. Everyone knows that seagulls eat chips. Anyway, we're back to just Monty and Reuben (Rubes) again.
So they look at the view together, alone with their thoughts. Monty takes his top off to liven things up a bit, and they run up a sand dune. "Hey Rubes, Rubes," Monty says a lot. "What are you doing Rubes?" Nothing really, just being a dog.
A Travis Perkins lorry arrives with some timber. Mike, one of the community-spirited workers, cuts his fingers, but not very badly. Monty buys a boat, some pigs and some chickens, which, we learn, are called hens in Scotland. Look at the view, isn't it magnificent? Crikey, there are two more episodes of this to go. At least in Castaway there were a few of them, and they had rows and relationships and stuff. Local Hero had a plot, plus Jenny Seagrove. This is just Monty and Reuben and a view, all of which are lovely, but I'm not convinced that together they add up to three hours of television. And I don't really understand what they're proving either, by moving to Scotland for the summer, and not really being very self-sufficient. That's just a long holiday, isn't it? Lovely, if you can afford it. And terrific views, obviously.
And I must admit I did enjoy the ferry, the Glenachulish, which plies the Kylerhea with just six cars. It's one of the last remaining turntable ferries afloat - so the whole car deck swivels round to let the cars drive off forwards onto the slipway . . . No? Sorry, I'm quite into boats. I was going to be a naval architect once, but I got thrown off the course for being too stupid, which is why I'm helping the Guardian out instead. What does it say about a TV programme, I wonder, when the star is a ferry?
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff